AFGHANISTAN

Roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices, killer of many U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, can now be detected before they explode from a safe distance by a laser beam, researchers from Michigan State University say.

A federal appeals court said on Monday that the 17-year prison sentence imposed on Jose Padilla, a US citizen also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir or Muhajir Abdullah, who was convicted of aiding terrorists in 2007, was too lenient.

Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have developed a new high-tech laser that can detect roadside bombs, one of the greatest causes of death for coalition soldiers.

Ralph Nader and a group of progressive cohorts are seeking a Democrat who can challenge President Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination for president.

It's difficult to remember, harder to spell and may go down as one of the biggest brand blunders in recent memory -- meet Qwikster.

Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) said the laser they've managed to develop has comparable output to a simple presentation pointer. However, it potentially has the sensitivity and selectivity to canvas large areas and identify the presence of roadside bombs, which they say account for about 60 percent of coalition soldiers' deaths.

Republicans are saying President Barack Obama's unveiling of a $3 trillion long-term deficit reduction plan -- dubbed the Buffett Rule -- that relies upon raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans is political posturing and window dressing.

Although President Obama’s new deficit reduction plan will be portrayed as a tax hike, in reality, it by and large returns the tax code, with a few exceptions, to levels that existed prior to the 2001 Bush income tax cut -- a cut that fundamentally altered the U.S.'s fiscal and economic trajectory. The nation has been trying to recover ever since.

Rep. Ron Paul won the California straw poll on Saturday, receiving almost half of all the votes.

Now many rare diseases can be treated. Rabies, for example, are very treatable. But this month, a soldier died from this disease, becoming the only one this year in the United States who died from thea treatable disease.

The idea is out there: Republicans on Capitol Hill considering a ceiling for defense cuts mandated by the deficit-reduction super committee. If it becomes a reality, however, it would not exceed $150 billion over 10 years.

Pakistan had no confirmation Friday that al-Qaida's chief of operations in the country had been killed in a recent drone strike in the northwestern tribal region, as reported by American officials.

New Jersey's Fort Monmouth, known for advances in communication and military technology, will close its doors for the last time Thursday and move its workers to Ohio and Maryland.

British Army Major General Tim Evans, who heads the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan, said that the insurgent group had planned a large-scale attack on the country, but NATO forces stopped it.

Courts in China's restive far western region of Xinjiang have sentenced four people to death for violence in two cities over the summer which left 32 people dead, a government website said.

Two people were murdered in Mexico for what they said on Twitter. It is a shocking crime, but not the first time such an event has happened.

The Kabul attack is now over, but the Middle East and Arab worlds are still overflowing with violence, social unrest and international tension. Here is the round up of news from Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

A group of manufacturers and defense companies are lobbying members of Congress on the deficit-reduction committee to oppose further cuts to military spending cuts.

The United States gave Libya's new rulers a very visible show of support on Wednesday when a senior envoy visited the capital and praised their efforts to assert control of armed groups three weeks after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown.

Afghan and NATO security forces have stopped the attack in Kabul that killed 14 people. It took 20 hours, but the last two militants were cleared from their high-rise hiding spot in on Wednesday morning.

During every presidential campaign season, a number of underdog candidates decide to run for the White House – most of whom have no hopes of ever getting elected.